Free Republic

COLORADO SPRINGS — Future private space stations may be sponsored by major corporations, which prompted a spirited discussion during a panel on the future of low Earth orbit at the 34th Space Symposium here. “I don’t want the Taco Bell International Space Station,” said Erin MacDonald, modeling and simulation engineer for Engility’s Space and Mission Systems Group. “I think it goes against what the public perceives the space station is supposed to be like.” While the International Space Station is unlikely to be rebranded by Taco Bell or any other corporation, if a new commercial space station is “paid for...

"The reason we want our own airlock is this airlock is going to be five times bigger than the current airlock, and it's going to be far more commercial," Manber said in a Sept. 27 presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia. In addition to satellite deployments and experiments, he said the module will be commercial "real estate" on the station, with the ability to mount payloads on its exterior. "It's getting us more into the real estate business and space station operations," he said. ... NanoRacks has long-term ambitions to develop its own commercial station, and is...

The International Space Station (ISS) is set to gain another addition in 2019, with the announcement of a milestone being achieved with the goal of launching a commercial airlock for installation on the Tranquility module. The airlock – in association with NanoRacks and Boeing – will be used for deploying external payloads and cubesats. The goal of fostering commercial use of the orbital outpost is a major goal for NASA, now the Station is in the utilization phase after years of assembly. Some signs of that aim being achieved are being seen, such as the recent addition of the Bigelow...